First Drug for Psychosis Linked to Parkinson’s disease Approved in the U.S.

Published By : 02 May 2016 |Published By : QYRESEARCH

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc’s medicine Nuplazid has become the first drug to have been approved in the United States for treatment of psychosis linked to Parkinson's disease.

However, the compnay has been asked by the U.S. Food and Drugs Association (U.S. FDA) to a black box warning, which is considered to be the strictest FDA warning for medicines, on the medicine’s label indicating an increased risk of death associated with the use of the drug in older people.

However, analysts state that the warning will have only a limited impact on the sales of the drug as most antipsychotics come with similar warnings.

The drug is expected to be priced at US$13,500 per patient for a span of a year and reach a valuation of more than US$1 bn in sales by the year 2021.

So far, psychosis linked to Parkinson's disease was treated with antipsyhotic drugs such as olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, and clozapine. These drugs operate by targeting the overproduction of dopamine, are known to be less effective, and are associated with side effects such as anxiety, agitation, and depression.

On the other hand, Nuplazid is considered a safer option by analysts as it does not affect the production of dopamine and rather targets the 5HT2A receptor, which is linked to neuropsychiatric disturbances.

Nearly 40% of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease experience psychosis, which is often characterized by delusions and hallucinations.

Given the safety risks of cheaper off-label drugs, insurers are less likely to ask patients to stick to them instead of the expensive option of Nuplazid (one of the most expensive antipsychotics in the market currently).